Sandy victims get lift at Macy's parade

Updated 8:47 pm, Thursday, November 22, 2012

The Kung Fu Panda balloon floats in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York in New York, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade kicked off in New York on Thursday, putting a festive mood in the air in a city still coping with the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
Photo: Charles Sykes, Associated Press

Dressed as a snowflake, Kae Burke, poses for a photograph as she makes her way through New York's Columbus Circle during the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Photo: Tina Fineberg, Associated Press

Dressed as a snowflake, Kae Burke, poses for a photograph as she...

The KAWS "Companion" balloon is seen during the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Photo: Mike Lawrie, Getty Images

The KAWS "Companion" balloon is seen during the 86th Annual Macy's...

The Charlie Brown balloon makes its way down Central Park West during the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade November 22, 2012 in New York City. Macy's donated tickets and transportation to this year's Thanksgiving Day Parade to 5,000 people from neighborhoods hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy.
Photo: Andrew Kelly, Getty Images

The Spiderman balloon makes its way down Sixth Avenue during the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 22, 2012 in New York.
Photo: Andrew Kelly, Getty Images

The Spiderman balloon makes its way down Sixth Avenue during the...

Members of the Oak Ridge High School Marching Band walk under a Mickey Mouse balloon as they make their way to the start of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in New York.
Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Members of the Oak Ridge High School Marching Band walk under a...

The Tap Dancing Christmas Trees make their way through New York's Columbus Circle during the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Thursday Nov. 22, 2012, in New York.
Photo: Tina Fineberg, Associated Press

The Pikachu Pokemon balloons are seen during the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 22, 2012 in New York City.
Photo: Mike Lawrie, Getty Images

The Pikachu Pokemon balloons are seen during the 86th Annual Macy's...

People watch as balloons make their way through the streets of Manhattan during the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 22, 2012 in New York City.
Photo: Andrew Kelly, Getty Images

People watch as balloons make their way through the streets of...

The Pillsbury Doughboy balloon makes his way through Herald Square in the 86th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade,Thursday, Nov 22, 2012, in New York.
Photo: Louis Lanzano, Associated Press

The Pillsbury Doughboy balloon makes his way through Herald Square...

Jennette McCurdy rides a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.
Photo: Charles Sykes, Associated Press

Jennette McCurdy rides a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day...

The Elf on the Shelf balloon floats in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012.
Photo: Charles Sykes, Associated Press

The Elf on the Shelf balloon floats in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day...

Mannheim Steamroller Rocks Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the third Straight Year at the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 22, 2012 in New York City.
Photo: Paul Zimmerman, Getty Images

Mannheim Steamroller Rocks Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the ...

The Harold the Fireman balloon makes its way through Columbus Circle during the 86th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 22, 2012 in New York City.
Photo: Andrew Kelly, Getty Images

The Harold the Fireman balloon makes its way through Columbus...

Santa Claus makes his way through Herald Square in the 86th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade,Thursday, Nov 22, 2012, in New York. The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade kicked off in New York on Thursday, putting a festive mood in the air in a city still coping with the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
Photo: Louis Lanzano, Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Victims of Superstorm Sandy in New York and elsewhere in the Northeast were comforted Thursday by kinder weather, free holiday meals and -- for some -- front row seats to the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

"It means a lot," said Karen Panetta, of the hard-hit Broad Channel section of Queens, as she sat in a special viewing section set aside for New Yorkers displaced by the storm.

"We're thankful to be here and actually be a family and to feel like life's a little normal today," she said.

The popular Macy's parade, attended by more than 3 million people and watched by 50 million on TV, included such giant balloons as Elf on a Shelf and Papa Smurf, a new version of Hello Kitty, Buzz Lightyear, Sailor Mickey Mouse and the Pillsbury Doughboy. Real-life stars included singer Carly Rae Jepsen and Rachel Crow of "The X Factor."

The biggest star, of course, was saved for the end. Santa Claus was ushered in by a group of Stagedoor Manor students that included Greenwich residents Sydney, 15, and Elliott Feder. The 137 children performed "Santa By The Book" from "Yes, Virginia The Musical."

The young, and the young at heart, were delighted by marching bands, performers and, of course, giant balloons. The sunny weather quickly surpassed 50 degrees.

Alan Batt and his 11-year-old twins, Kyto and Elina, took in the parade at the end of the route, well away from the crowd and seemingly too far away for a good view. But they had an advantage: Two tall stepladders they hauled over from their apartment eight blocks away -- one for each twin.

At nearby Greeley Square, social worker Lowell Herschberger, 40, of Brooklyn, sought in vain to tear his sons, 8-year-old Logan and 6-year-old Liam, from a foosball table set up in the tiny park as the balloons crept by on the near horizon.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was reflective Thursday as he praised police, firefighters, armed services personnel, sanitation workers and volunteers involved in the storm response. His office was coordinating the distribution of 26,500 meals at 30 sites in neighborhoods affected by Sandy, and other organizations also were pitching in.

The disaster zones on Staten Island were flooded -- this time with food and volunteers from Glen Rock, N.J. organized using social media.

On Long Island, the Long Beach nonprofit Surf For All hosted a Thanksgiving event that fed 1,200 people. Carol Gross, 72, a Long Beach native, said she went to volunteer, but was turned away because of a surplus of helpers.

"A lot of people like me, old-timers, we've never seen anything like this horror," she said, recalling the destruction.

Gross' brother, Jerry, who moved to Arizona in the 1960s, was stunned by what he saw when he returned for Thanksgiving.

"To come back and see the boardwalk all devastated like it is, it's like going to Manhattan and finding Times Square gone," he said.

George Alvarez, whose Toms River, N.J., home suffered moderate damage when Sandy hit the coast, said his family usually does "the traditional big dinner" on Thanksgiving. But this year, they chose to attend a community dinner held at an area church.

"This storm not only impacted us, it impacted a lot of our friends, our community, our psyche," Alvarez said shortly before his family headed out for their meal. "We could have had our usual dinner here at home, but this year it felt like we should be with others who are experiencing the same concerns we are. We made it through this devastating storm, and that's something to celebrate."

Across the country, other cities offered a mix of holiday cheer and acts of charity.

Thousands of people made the most of the mild, sunny fall weather to watch Detroit's Thanksgiving parade, hours ahead of the Lions' annual home game.

Floats and marching bands poured down Woodward Avenue on Thursday morning, with many spectators forgoing the cold-weather gear of past parades. Detroit's temperature hit 52 degrees at 11 a.m., with a warm wind blowing from the South.

In San Francisco, lines of the homeless and less fortunate began forming late Wednesday outside a church in the city's tough Tenderloin district that expected to serve more than 5,000 meals, said the Rev. Cecil Williams.

"We must make sure people can overcome all adversities," Williams said. "You can, you will and you must."